Planned and Necessary Delays

You're at a Major League Baseball playoff game. You've got your home team jersey with a matching baseball cap, check! You have your mitt to catch a souvenir home run ball, check! You've loaded up on refreshments, check! You're all set and ready to go, then a thunderstorm rolls in and you're told to clear the stands and seek shelter for a rain delay. What a bummer. You're delayed for an indefinite amount of time and your plans are potentially ruined. That's the idea that comes to mind when we think of delays. But delays aren't always bad, in fact God causes delays in our lives for our good. We don't have the foresight to see what God has planned or the wisdom to recognize that these "inconvenient" delays are really good things.

Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness by following the cloud and pillar of fire representing God's presence according to God's schedule. Moses explained this in Numbers 9:15-23. "Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped."

Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning. When the cloud lifted in the morning, they packed up and set out. Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for only a few days, sometimes a month or several months. When they got to Mount Sinai, they remained there for 11 months. They were required to wait upon the Lord. Sometimes they waited and waited and waited. They didn't have the privilege of knowing when God was going to lift up the cloud.

Waiting on the Lord can be hard. We have things to do, plans to fulfill, and sometimes "urgent" matters to tend to. King Saul got impatient and offered the burnt offering which was supposed to be offered by the prophet Samuel. Saul's troops were beginning to desert him before the Philistine army and he panicked and took things in his own hands.

When we wait impatiently, the delays in our life may cause us to think that God has forgotten about our situation. The cloud is still there and we need to recognize that God doesn't want us to move yet. Waiting on the Lord is an essential part of our life. Waiting is the time for developing stronger faith and trust in God. We learn submission, humility, patience and endurance. These are things that sometimes require delays in our life or our plans to develop. We shouldn't get restless or impatient. When we do, sometimes we make poor decisions or rash acts that can be irrevocable.

When we don't know whether to move forward or break camp, it's a good time to pray and ask God for guidance and wisdom. James tells us in 1:5-6, "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God -- who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly -- and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting.

When we wait upon the Lord and call on Him, He will respond. What may seem like a delay or unresponsiveness on His part could very well be the answer we're looking for..."Wait, it's not time yet"

Pastor Bryan